Seared beef, spelt & butternut salad
By Cassie Best
Roast butternut squash and parsnips and top with sliced sirloin steaks for a delicious dish that’s special enough for entertaining
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Prep:35 mins
Cook:15 mins
- Serves 8
- More effort
Nutrition per serving
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kcal 497
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fat 30g
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saturates 7g
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carbs 30g
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sugars 15g
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fibre 9g
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protein 23g
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salt 0.7g
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
- 2 fat parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 red onions, cut into wedges
- 4 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
- 2 fat garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 2 sirloin steaks (about 450g)
- 100g hazelnuts
- 10 sage leaves
- 2 x 250g pouches ready-cooked spelt or 200g cooked and left to cool
- 70g bag rocket
- 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive or rapeseed oil
Method
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the squash, parsnips and onions in a large roasting tin, drizzle over 1 tbsp oil and season well, then mix everything together. Add the garlic to the tin, coating in the oil too, and bake for 40 mins or until the vegetables have softened and are browning at the edges. While the vegetables cook, remove the steaks from the fridge and set aside at room temperature.
Add the hazelnuts to a frying pan and heat until toasty brown. Tip onto a plate and wipe out the pan with kitchen paper. Heat the remaining 3 tbsp oil in the frying pan, then add the sage leaves and fry for 1-2 mins until crispy. Set the sage aside with the hazelnuts, leaving the oil in the pan. Season the steaks and cook for 2-3 mins each side for a rare steak (depending on the thickness) or to your liking. Transfer to another plate, then cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for a few mins.
When the vegetables are cooked, remove them from the oven and fish out the garlic cloves. Using the back of a spoon or your hands, squeeze out the soft garlic pulp into a bowl, discarding the skins. Mash the garlic with a fork, then add the dressing ingredients to the bowl, season, and whisk to combine.
Put the spelt in the roasting tray with the vegetables and add most of the hazelnuts. Crumble in the sage leaves and add half the rocket. Drizzle over half the dressing and toss everything together. Tip any juices from the steak over the veg and spelt and thinly slice the steak. Transfer the salad to a big serving platter and top with the sliced steak. Add the remaining hazelnuts and rocket and season with black pepper. Serve the extra dressing on the side.
